And so the journey begins

We applied with the agency and were told first we would need a letter of reference from our pastor. We contacted him, he was happy to write a reference AFTER meeting with us to scrutinize the stability of our marriage, commitment of our faith and dedication to adoption. We were then accepted with the agency, we had several tasks to complete.

We had to:

1. Attend adoption classes
2. complete a homestudy
3. answer a million questions
4. take personality tests
5. take a marriage compatibility test
6. provide fingerprints
7. provide 6 references, related and unrelated
8. pass physical exams
9. pass a rigorous background check
10. attend counseling sessions

all before we would be able to go into the matchbook. We worked hard to complete all the requirements and time passed pretty quickly. The day came to be put into the matchbook-we had our letter prepared a month in advance (can you tell we are excited?). For whatever reason there was a delay and we didn't go into the book. :( A month passed and we were finally added to the book. The wait began.....

What happens next? Well, we will get one of two calls. Call one is a hospital call, which basically means birthmom is in labor and we need to go to the hospital for our baby. Call two is a match meeting call, this means our match letter was presented to birth family and they want to meet with us to see if we are a fit for their baby. If there is a connection, we get put "on hold" and wait for baby to be born. Birth families are usually presented with match letters around 7-8 months, so the wait from that point is relatively short.

Since everything moved pretty quickly, we thought for sure we would be matched almost instantly even though the average wait time from application to placement is roughly 1 year. To our dismay, we have not been matched as of yet. Its been about 9 months since we were accepted with the agency.